Page 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Kryxis

He watched her from his place far above. Watched her pick up the glass tank then press it against her. She called his name, wanting him to come to her.

He wanted to. The urge to leap down and obey was strong.

But he couldn’t. Not yet.

The armored ones were everywhere now, and he was wary of being attacked, still recovering from the attack with the insects. There were marks on his skin where those that survived the fire had bitten and scratched him, and they still itched.

But he wanted her to know, needed her to know, he was near. Early on, he almost considered the risk of being shot by their weapons just to take her and bring her back to the den. It felt emptier there now without her.

But he knew taking her away from the others might upset her, so instead he brought her another gift. Her eyes lit up again for a second, and that made him feel warmer than the sunlight against his skin.

She liked his little gifts. And she had called for him in the tunnels. He remembered that before the fire overtook him.

Twice in a matter of hours, he’d been consumed by fire because of her. And he’d do it again.

What was something like that called?

He’d never cared this much for anyone or anything ever. Yet, he felt so far away from her, so out of reach. He had to have impressed her in the tunnels, right? He had shined himself up and put on clothes. Clothes which had gotten burned in the fire, losing the shiny things he had worn.

It wasn’t a problem. He had others. But he was still uncertain about what she’d thought of him then. The only indication was her face turning red, and she had a hard time speaking. Like she was nervous again. Which was disappointing.

But she had smiled. And he’d learned that was a good thing.

Even so, dread slipped into his hearts. With the second ship, he understood they were going to leave soon. She was going to leave soon.

And for the first time that he could remember, fear gripped him.

He didn’t want to be alone, to go back and stare at his lifeless den. He’d trade in his whole collection if meant making a new one with her.

He watched Dani disappear back into the ship before he slowly slipped away. Time was running out, and he needed to act before it was too late.